VINCENT BONSIGNORE: L.A.'s NFL wait will continue this year

As expected, the NFL-imposed Feb. 15 deadline for teams to file for relocation to Los Angeles will come and go without an NFL team taking action.

In the short term, that means Los Angeles will be without an NFL team next season for the 19 th straight year.

In the long term, it means little in Los Angeles' quest to bring pro football back for the first time since 1994, when the Raiders bolted for Oakland and the Rams fled for St. Louis.

That no team showed interest in moving here to play the 2013 season is about as surprising as Peyton Manning exiting the playoffs in the first round.

Nothing of substance is going to happen until the Anschutz Entertainment Group, the company behind the proposed Farmers Field Stadium project adjacent to Staples Center and L.A. Live, wraps up its heavily publicized sale.

The deal to purchase AEG remains in the bidding stage, and until the new owner emerges, the entire process of bringing the NFL here remains on hold.

Farmers Field is one of two local stadium projects the NFL is mulling along with the Ed Roski's City of Industry proposal.

Both projects are privately funded and have cleared the necessary hurdles to begin construction, but the NFL will wait until the AEG sale is complete before deciding which stadium to back.

As a result, the deadline will pass with everyone staying put.

For the time being, anyway.

It's only a matter of time before the AEG sale is settled, and with reports of interest from powerhouse names like Patrick Soon-Shiong, the richest man in Los Angeles; the Guggenheim Group, which owns the Dodgers; and Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov, who owns the Brooklyn Nets, the bidding process figures to take some intriguing twists and turns over the next few months.

Once a sale is completed, the NFL will be ready to take a serious look at Los Angeles again.

The list of potential teams that might move here remains essentially the same as it has for more than a year now - although you can strike the Minnesota Vikings off that list after they secured a new stadium deal in downtown Minneapolis.

The San Diego Chargers are stuck in neutral in their quest to get a new stadium deal done and have an annual clause that allows them to buy out their lease with Qualcomm Stadium. Assuming nothing happens in their stadium fight, by this time next year the Chargers could be a serious candidate for relocation.

The St. Louis Rams are locked in a disagreement with city leaders on how much money is needed to bring the Edward Jones Dome among the top 25 percent of all NFL Stadiums by 2015, a negotiated requirement for the Rams to remain locked into their lease.

While the city estimates the renovations falls in the $120 million range, the Rams insist it likely exceeds $600 million. The disagreement is in the hands of arbitrators, and a ruling is expected soon.

If it's the lower number, the Rams will remain in St. Louis. If it's the higher amount, the Rams instantly become favorites for relocation as they can opt out of their lease without the improvements.

The Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars are candidates as well.

But all of that is on hold for the moment as the NFL awaits word on the sale of AEG.